I had been in South Africa for over a month at this point, traveling from Cape Town to Johannesburg and back, and had just moved into my homestay in the Bo Kaap area of Cape Town the past week. In this new location I felt a greater sense of independence, which allowed me to freely explore the city more. Unlike my previous homestay in the Langa township wherein I was not allowed outside by myself or at any time after dark, I was able to freely explore this new area on my own. I walked ten minutes up the mountain every morning, navigating the cobblestone roads and narrow alleyways, in order to catch the taxi to school, so I felt quite grounded in my surroundings already. One sunny afternoon in early March, my classes had finished early so I chose to grab lunch to-go and walk the mile commute home. Just as I approach my homestay’s front gate, I am surprised to see my host brother outside, sitting against the window’s ledge, looking a bit dehydrated and quite desolate.
After chatting with my host brother for a few minutes, we came to the unfortunate conclusion that we were both stuck outside due to him forgetting his gate key inside and me only having the key for a door that was locked behind the front gate. We knew Mama wouldn’t be arriving back home for at least another 2 hours so we began conversing. After discussing how I’m liking Cape Town, I began to get to know him more personally. He tells me about the strong bond with his faith and how influential of a role it has played not only during his upbringing, but in his day-to-day actions as well. He speaks about the many ways in which his religion has aided in his practice of values like tolerance and compassion, high he said allowed him to be a better son, friend, and overall person. After inquiring about one of his tattoos, I am shocked to learn that he has spent a majority of his life in one of the most notorious gangs in the country. Despite his past gang involvement, he shared that he had left a few years prior, with the support of his family and faith.
I had previously known a lot of factual information about that gang from the pre-trip research I did, but talking with someone who had personal experience within it was imperative to humanizing the information, contextualizing it within the South African history, and becoming more understanding of the discourse surrounding ideas of gangsterism. Hearing about the circumstances of my host brother’s life, I began to understand the role of safety and security that gangs had and continue to have in many communities. My concept of a gang member shattered during this conversation, as despite reading books by former gang members and taking a Criminology class, my real-world application and understanding was limited by my sheltered western culture. Sitting with my host brother, sharing the last few drops from my water bottle as the relentless sun beat down, I gained a more nuanced view of the ways in which different formations of group socialization can be either praised or criminalized. I gained a wider perspective on the motivations behind gang membership specifically in South Africa, as the US tends to view social problems and crime as a reflection of individual choices, ignoring the influences of gang membership and socio-political factors.